💬 Friday Thread: What Are Your Favorite Reads, Watches, Listens of May ?

And what have you been reading lately?

Hello and Happy Friday!

I feel like more times than not I get to the end of the month and say I can’t believe it’s the end of (insert month), and I’m saying that again for May. This month has flown by! In terms of reading it’s been a great one for me personally. I’m back in a good reading flow this month and have had three reads that have 5 star blown me away. I’ll be sharing two of those in my May Surprise Reads audio episode for paid subscribers and the other one is below.

When I think about my May reading, I’m happy with the quality of my reads, but I’m feeling a huge pull to not just read a couple more in books in June, but to spend more time actually sitting down and reading! I’m not quite ready to set a tbr to follow, but I do have a couple June releases that are must reads (Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid is one) and then I'll sprinkle in backlist too.

I’m sharing a few of my May favorites below and I can’t wait to see what books, tv shows, movies, products etc made your favorites list this month!

A Few of My May Favorites

• A book I five star LOVED - The Last Time They Met by Anita Shreve - this backlist book left me stunned! A bittersweet love story, characters in midlife, coming of age, complicated love, family, this story had it all. The author used an interesting structure to tell the story, at times I was frustrated with the rapid shifts in time, but in the end I forgot all that and was left stunned. This book is another reminder why prioritizing backlist is important to me

• Favorite movie of the month- hands down the new Mission Impossible!

• Favorite tv shows of the month- up until the last couple weeks I would’ve said Your Friends and Neighbors (Apple TV), but Mob Land (Paramount +) has had so many amazing twists these last few episodes and Helen Mirren’s crazy character has upped her craziness game so much that I find myself really loving this show and looking forward to Sunday nights.

  PS - I’d been eagerly anticipating the new episode of And Just Like That and watched it last night. I hate to say this because I love all things Sex and the City, but it was meh in my opinion. I won’t spoil anything, but I'm truly hoping we do not continue to see Rosie O’Donnell on any more episodes.

• Favorite recipe of the month - I made this Protein Banana Bread last weekend for our Memorial Day cookout and friends, it was so delicious and disappeared in short order! I’ve been trying out easy, healthy recipes so if I can make this, you can too:) **recipe from Mindful Roots Journey via Instagram

  Ingredients: 3 ripe bananas, mashed. 2 eggs, 1 cup plain Greek yogurt, 1/4 c honey, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 1/2 cups oat flour, 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (I use Jocko), 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp cinnamon, pinch of salt, dark chocolate chips (I used about 1/3 cup)

  Method: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, line a loaf pan with parchment paper or lightly grease it. Mix wet ingredients in a large bowl (mashed bananas, eggs, yogurt, honey, and vanilla extract) until smooth. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl- whisk together oat flour, protein powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Then, gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until just combined. Avoid overmixing! Fold in chocolate chips. Pour batter into loaf pan and bake for 50-60 minutes. Cool for 10 min.

Ok, that’s it for me for now, I’ll have more favorites, including a bunch of gift links, in my May Surprise Reads episode. And look for the two new release thrillers I’ve started on audio in the comments….

I’d love for you to join the conversation and share YOUR favorites of the month! If you’re not already a paid subscriber, simply click the button below to upgrade your subscription, join the conversation, and get access to my two additional secret 5 star May reads in the upcoming Surprise Reads audio episode. Whether you’re a free or paid subscriber, thank you for being here:)

Question Time

The questions I ask in weekly threads are meant to be fun and help us connect, so please know you don’t have to answer each question, if you only have the time/desire to answer one, great! Please put book titles IN ALL CAPS for easy reading:)

1. What are your favorite reads, watches, listens & more of May?

2. What have you been reading lately?

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